When LeBron James came into the league, he was a one-of-a-kind physical specimen who could get to the rim and pass with the best of them. Shortly after he graced the cover of Sports Illustrated, people began to question James’ perimeter game, and his jump shot was widely criticized. Over the course of eight seasons,…

Because of the way Steve Nash plays, it’s hard to think of him as one of the greatest offensive players of all time. He doesn’t go off for 50-point outbursts, and he doesn’t just grab the ball in isolation and score time and time again. He needs good teammates to pass to in order to…

According to Dave McMenamin of ESPN Los Angeles, Lakers guard Steve Blake is expected to miss some time…because of the chicken pox: Steve Blake did not make it to shootaround on Tuesday because of an illness. The team announced later Tuesday afternoon that Blake has chicken pox and would not play Tuesday; beyond that, he…

UPDATE 5:29 pm: Chris Bosh told Eric Koreen from the National Post (via twitter) that the he, LeBron and Wade will play in the final game of the season. Sure. I think there’s about as good of a chance of me suiting up for the Heat as all three of them, but we’re passing it along.…

Every year the process feels dirty, for some reason this season more so than others. Why, exactly, do NBA award ballots have to be in to the league office by Thursday? Why can’t the playoffs count, especially since many consider those the only games that matter, anyway? This isn’t baseball, when you play a six-month…

There’s a lot on the line when Portland takes on Memphis Tuesday night. But it’s kind of a Let’s Make a Deal problem — you don’t know what you’re getting once you pick the door. The new car or the goat. This game may well decide sixth seed in the West — Portland gets it…

You know, the animation is really pretty good. So, I’ve said something nice about The LeBrons (LeBron James‘ animated series based on a commercial). And taking my mother’s advice about not saying anything nice, that’s all I will say. But enjoy, it’s episode 2 of the LeBrons. I’d spoil it for you and tell you…

The atmosphere for the Kings loss to the Thunder Monday night was a throwback. Like about 10 years, when the Kings were contenders and then ARCO Arena was as great a home court advantage as the league had. Complete with cowbells. Kevin Durant said the feeling inside Power Balance Arena Monday reminded him of the…

Chris Paul — who is eyeing a future outside the Big Easy — knows that rule No. 1 is not to cut off potential opportunities. No matter the likelihood. With that in mind we bring you Chris Paul’s reaction to being asked by the Associated Press if he would return to his native North Carolina…

And you thought Blake Griffin didn’t have an outside shot. He’s got one, he just needs a balcony in the way, then he puts a little more arc under it. If there had been a car for him to shoot over too… Thanks to The Rookie Wall for finding this and sending it along.

Two-and-done? While the age limit should be a side issue to the upcoming NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement — percentage of basketball related income is the real number to watch — it looks like it could be another little battleground. Billy Hunter from the players union said that he didn’t think it was appropriate to keep…

Is there a M*A*S*H* unit that follows the Celtics around? It just seems it would be cost efficient at this point. Boston picked up another injury Monday, but just one so it may be under their daily quota. This time it was Delonte West spraining his ankle, reports A. Sherrod Blakely at CSN New England.…

An idea emailed to me by reader Vincent that is an interesting longshot: This summer LeBron can opt out of or renegotiate his Nike shoe deal, according to reports. Recently one of Nike’s star shoe designers publicly ripped LeBron and his entourage for their lack of focus (and having too many voices in the process)…

Kemba Walker, who led Connecticut to the National Championship, has decided to leave college and enter the NBA draft. That according to Andy Katz of ESPN. UConn has a press conference called for Tuesday where that will beocome official. And it is the right move. (We should note, as was pointed out in the comments,…

Back East they have their act together. They’ve planned in advance and they know what they want to do for the playoffs. Out West they have procrastinated. Always waiting to the last second. And the whole thing is complicated. Trigonometry complicated. Bring in Stephen Hawking and Brian Green to explain it complicated. So we’ll start…

What you missed while signing up for Bacon Camp… Heat 98, Hawks 90: The Heat came out playing with real energy — they wanted to win this and take care of the second seed. Miami got help early on because Atlanta just played lazy defense in the first half. Hawks players did not fight over…

Dwight Howard said as he started to take off he told Jrue Holiday not to jump. Their both Adidas guys, Howard didn’t want to embarrass him. Howard was going to throw down a monster dunk and he knew it. All credit to Holiday for trying, for getting back on defense and making the effort to…

Soon to be new Pistons owner Tom Gores was in the building. Charlie Villanueva has an interesting way of impressing him. What ended as one of the craziest moments of the year — with police trying to stop a locker room fight — started on the court with 5:45 left in the fourth quarter. The…

What to do with Keith Smart? We know what Keith Smart wants, but Warriors owner Joe Lacob is going to take his time in making a decision he told our man Matt Steinmetz at CSN Bay Area. Warriors owner Joe Lacob indicated during a brief conversation on Monday that an announcement on Smart won’t be…